Spring Training, West Palm Beach, FL, March, 1991. During Spring Break, Swami Lee and I went to West Palm Beach to catch either the Braves or the Expos as they shared the facility. I remember going through my new cards, pulling out the 4 teams that were going to be there (I forget the other 2 now), and anticipating getting a bunch of them signed. I got 2 signed. This one and the Mark Lemke. Actual card

Spring Training, West Palm Beach, FL, March, 1991. During Spring Break, Swami Lee and I went to West Palm Beach to catch either the Braves or the Expos as they shared the facility. I remember going through my new cards, pulling out the 4 teams that were going to be there (I forget the other 2 now), and anticipating getting a bunch of them signed. I got 2 signed. This one and the Lonnie Smith. Actual card

Spring Training, Port St. Lucie, FL, March, 1991. The Phillies crossed the state (from Clearwater) for their only appearance in PSL, FL, and it was a night game. The Swami was with me (and my parents). Dickie was extremely accessible and was signing for a long time. Actual card

Spring Training, Port St. Lucie, FL, March, 1991. The Phillies crossed the state (from Clearwater) for their only appearance in PSL, FL, and it was a night game. The Swami was with me (and my parents). My mom actually is the one who got his attention just after he said, "Sorry, that's all, I gotta go." She said something that caught his ear, and he said, "Just this one." So, we got the last of his signatures before the game that night. Of all the autographs, this is my favorite, as he was one of my favorites growing up, and he also served as quite a role model. You couldn't go wrong trying to emulate Dale Murphy, on or off the field. (And I still think he belongs in the HOF!) Actual card

FSL game, Holman Stadium, Vero Beach, FL, 1991, pre-game, at the bullpen. I chatted with Brook for quite a while as we are actually quite close in age. I was asking him about how soon he thought he'd make the show and all sorts of baseball talk. He signed the card for me "Brook 4-dyce". I remember asking if we'd be seeing him "at Shea" in 2 or 3 years. He said catchers usually take longer, but he hoped 4 to 5. He did finally get the call-up in 1995. He did it! I always rooted for him after that day, no matter who he was playing for. Actual card

North American Convenience Stores (NACS) Convention, Atlanta, GA, October 1992. Working for Star International at the time, we were trying to get our non-sport "wax" product into convenience stores. In an attempt to get foot traffic, we had several of the models who appeared on our cards there with us at our booth signing the special promos printed primarily for the convention. They were our guests, and we treated them as such. At the end of the show, I got my cards signed. All 7 of the women that were there were absolutely fantastic. A real pleasure to work with. There were 30 show promos made, I have 14 of them signed. Actual card

North American Convenience Stores (NACS) Convention, Atlanta, GA, October 1992. Working for Star International at the time, we were trying to get our non-sport "wax" product into convenience stores. In an attempt to get foot traffic, we had several of the models who appeared on our cards there with us at our booth signing the special promos printed primarily for the convention. Lynn was married to Darren Daulton at the time, and we got to hear some stories. Another real sweetheart. Actual card

Swami Lee's Sports Cards, Pennsauken, NJ, September 30, 2017. My best friend from high school opened yet another card shop in a different location (6th or 7th over the course of the past 25 years) and in an effort to get some extra foot traffic in the shop, he's been hosting free signings. Since Lee and Landeta are both Towson alumni, Lee was able to get Sean to do a signing event to help promote the shop. Landeta played for the Phila Stars (USFL) and the Eagles, as well as the NY Giants. He is active in both organizations still and was great with the fans that came out. He had an Eagles hat and a Giants hat and would ask each person who they were a fan of, and put on the corresponding hat to take photos with each person. As it was winding down, I sat with him to get my card signed (and to help get some of the items for people who couldn't make it) and chatted a bit. If all people were as nice and personable as Sean, we'd have a much better world. And given the track record I've had with athletes and how nice they've been to me, that's really high praise for Sean. Actual card

Swami Lee's Sports Cards, Pennsauken, NJ, November 18, 2017. My best friend from high school opened yet another card shop in a different location (6th or 7th over the course of the past 25 years) and in an effort to get some extra foot traffic in the shop, he's been hosting free signings. He managed to secure Dickie Noles, who pitched in the 1980 World Series. Best part about this card is the story he told of getting up for one of the games in the WS with Kevin Saucier, whom they called "Sauce". The call came down to the bullpen for Noles & Sauce to warm up. They each threw about 5 pitches and the call came back down, "We gotta get X out, either one warm?" Dickie said he was and Sauce was like "There's no way you can already be warm!" Dickie said, "There's no way I'm missing out on going into a World Series game!" And that's how they brought Noles in over Saucier. Actual card

Swami Lee's Sports Cards, Pennsauken, NJ, November 18, 2017. See the 1980 Topps Noles. Actual card